Songs and calls of some New York State birds

Gulls and Terns

All sound files are mp3 files.
Images are adapted from drawings by
Chester A. Reed, B. S. in Chapman.

Greater Black-backed GullLarus marinus
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Long Island, August 1997

Herring GullLarus argentatus
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Damariscotta Falls, Maine, April 1998.
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Long Island, September 1999.
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Heh-heh-heh, YOW, heh-heh-heh, etc.Long Island, April 2004.

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Immature Herring Gull begging.Long Island, August 1997.

Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
Feeding vocalizations. At low tide Ring-billed Gulls mass at
the shoreline, standing in one or two inches of water and treading
the bottom, presumably to stir up food (they peck at the water from
time to time). There is a lot of squabbling over territory.
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Table talk I
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Table talk II
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Table talk III
Long Island, January 1999

Laughing GullLarus atricilla
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Heh-heh
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Hah-hah-hah, hooh-hooh, hah-hah-hah
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"A high, long-drawn laugh" (Chapman)
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Duet
Chatham, Massachusetts, April 2002

Bonaparte's GullLarus philadephia
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"A nasal cheer or cherr" (Peterson)
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(interpolations: Swan take-off, Herring Gull, Western Sandpiper)
Long Island, April 2004

Common TernSterna hirundo
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"A vibrant, purring
tearrr" (Chapman)
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TearrrLong Island, August 1997.

Courting vocalizations. The courtship scene for Common Terns is somewhere
between the Debutante Cotillion and the Roller Derby. In this instance,
about 100 Terns are standing on a steadily shrinking sand bar. At any one time
five or six are undertaking ritual bathing in the adjacent shallows.
At any one time three or four couples are engaged in the "stand on my back"
phase of courtship. A few fish are served, but it is nothing like the
inflexible protocol of the Little Terns (see below). The two main
sounds are
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tearr, tearr, tearr, ... (males?)
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a rapid yip, yip, yip, ... (females?).
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Here is how they sound
together.
Long Island, May 2001.

Little TernSterna albifrons
(Least Tern).
Courting vocalizations. Little Tern courtship is mediated by fish.
Females
stand on the beach
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("I'm here, I'm here!")
keeping their competitors at a distance.
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("Get away from me, you hussy!")
A male flies in with a minnow draped in his
beak
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("I've got a fish, I've got a fish!")
and finds a female who will accept it.
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("I've got a fish!" "I'm here!")
The male flies back out to sea.
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("Yes yes yes she took my fish!")Long Island, July and August 1997.